UEFA Europa League 2014-15
The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League is the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 6th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2015 UEFA Europa League Final will be played at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland.Sevilla are the title holders. This will be the first season where clubs must comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in order to participate. Moreover, this season was the first where a club from Gibraltar competed in the tournament, after the Gibraltar Football Association was accepted as the 54th UEFA member at the UEFA Congress in May 2013. They were granted one spot in the Europa League, which was taken by College Europa, the runners-up of the 2014 Rock Cup. Starting from this edition, the UEFA Europa League winners will qualify for the subsequent UEFA Champions League season. Therefore, the winners of this tournament will qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. They will enter at least the play-off round, and will enter the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders is not used. On 17 July 2014, a UEFA emergency panel ruled that Ukrainian and Russian clubs would not be drawn against each other "until further notice" due to the political unrest between the countries. Another ruling centred in regional instability was also made where Israeli teams were prohibited from hosting any UEFA competitions due to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. The rules regarding suspensions due to yellow card accumulation were also changed such that all bookings expire on completion of the quarter-finals and are not carried forward to the semi-finals. Association team allocation A total of 195 teams from all 54 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association: *Associations 1–6 each have three teams qualify. *Associations 7–9 each have four teams qualify. *Associations 10–51 (except Liechtenstein) each have three teams qualify. *Associations 52–53 each have two teams qualify. *Liechtenstein and Gibraltar each have one team qualify (Liechtenstein organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Gibraltar as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee) *The top three associations of the 2013–14 UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking each gain an additional berth. *Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League are transferred to the Europa League. The winners of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League are given an additional entry as title holders if they do not qualify for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League or Europa League through their domestic performance. However, this additional entry is not necessary for this season since the title holders qualified for European competitions through their domestic performance. Association ranking For the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2013 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2008–09 to 2012–13. Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below: * – Additional berth via Fair Play ranking (Norway, Sweden, Finland) * – Additional teams transferred from the Champions League | | |} Distribution Since the title holders Sevilla qualified for the Europa League through their domestic performance, the spot which they qualified for in the group stage (as the fifth-placed team of the 2013–14 La Liga) is vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system are made: *The domestic cup winners of association 7 (Ukraine) will be promoted from the play-off round to the group stage. *The domestic cup winners of association 16 (Austria) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round. *The domestic cup winners of association 19 (Israel) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round. *The domestic cup winners of associations 33 and 34 (Finland and Bosnia and Herzegovina) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round. Redistribution rules A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules: *When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualify for the Champions League, their Europa League place is vacated. As a result, either of the following teams qualify for the Europa League: **The domestic cup runners-up, provided they have not yet qualified for European competitions, qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier (with the earliest starting round), with the other Europa League qualifiers moved up one "place" (the 2014–15 season will be the last with this particular arrangement). **Otherwise, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place". *When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible. *For associations where a Europa League place is reserved for the League Cup winners, they always qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier (or as the second "lowest-placed" qualifier in cases where the cup runners-up qualify as stated above). If the League Cup winners have already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place is taken by the highest-placed league team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions. *A Fair Play place is taken by the highest-ranked team in the domestic Fair Play table which have not yet qualified for European competitions. Teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: *TH: Title holders *CW: Cup winners *CR: Cup runners-up *LC: League Cup winners *2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position *P-W: End-of-season European competition play-offs winners *FP: Fair Play *UCL: Transferred from the Champions League **GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage **PO: Losers from the play-off round **Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round } | | | |- | | | | |- !colspan=4|Group stage |- | Sevilla | Guingamp | | |- | Everton | Dynamo Kyiv | | |- | Wolfsburg | | |rowspan=3| |- | Fiorentina | | |- | Estoril | | |- !colspan=4|Play-off round |- | Villarreal | PEC Zwolle | Debrecen | Feyenoord |- | Tottenham Hotspur | Twente | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |- | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Trabzonspor | Panathinaikos | Qarabağ |- | Internazionale | Lokeren | Grasshoppers | Dinamo Zagreb |- | Nacional | PAOK | AEL Limassol | Legia Warsaw |- | Saint-Étienne | Zürich | HJK | Partizan |- | Metalist Kharkiv | Apollon Limassol | Sheriff Tiraspol |rowspan=3| |- | Rostov | Midtjylland | Sparta Prague |- | Lokomotiv Moscow | Rapid Wien | Aktobe |- !colspan=4|Third qualifying round |- | Real Sociedad | Lyon | Club Brugge | Viktoria Plzeň |- | Hull City | Chornomorets Odesa | Atromitos | Astra Giurgiu |- | Mainz 05 | Dynamo Moscow | Young Boys | Ironi Kiryat Shmona |- | Torino | PSV Eindhoven | Ermis Aradippou |rowspan=2| |- | Rio Ave | Karabükspor | Brøndby |- !colspan=4|Second qualifying round |- | Zorya Luhansk | Mladá Boleslav | Ruch Chorzów | Molde |- | Krasnodar | Slovan Liberec | Rijeka | CSKA Sofia |- | Groningen | Petrolul Ploiești | Hajduk Split | Győr |- | Bursaspor | CFR Cluj | Elfsborg | Gorica |- | Zulte Waregem | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | AIK | Zestafoni |- | Asteras Tripoli | Hapoel Tel Aviv | St. Johnstone | Neftchi Baku |- | Luzern | Shakhtyor Salihorsk | Motherwell | RoPS |- | Omonia | Dinamo Minsk | Vojvodina | Sarajevo |- | Esbjerg | Neman Grodno | Jagodina |rowspan=3| |- | Grödig | Zawisza Bydgoszcz | Košice |- | St. Pölten | Lech Poznań | Trenčín |- !colspan=4|First qualifying round |- | RNK Split | Željezničar | Čelik Nikšić | Aberystwyth Town |- | IFK Göteborg | Zimbru Chișinău | Budućnost Podgorica | Nõmme Kalju |- | Aberdeen | Tiraspol | Turnovo | Sillamäe Kalev |- | Čukarički | Veris Chișinău | Metalurg Skopje | Santos Tartu |- | Spartak Trnava | Sligo Rovers | Shkëndija | Pyunik |- | Rosenborg | Dundalk | Flamurtari Vlorë | Shirak |- | Haugesund | Derry City | Kukësi | Mika |- | Litex Lovech | Atlantas | Laçi | Víkingur |- | Botev Plovdiv | Ekranas | Birkirkara | ÍF |- | Ferencváros | Banga Gargždai | Hibernians | B36 Tórshavn |- | Diósgyőr | Shakhter Karagandy | Sliema Wanderers | Libertas |- | Koper | Astana | Vaduz | Folgore |- | Rudar Velenje | Kairat | Differdange 03 | Sant Julià |- | Sioni Bolnisi | Jelgava | Fola Esch | UE Santa Coloma |- | Chikhura Sachkhere | Daugava Daugavpils | Jeunesse Esch | College Europa |- | Inter Baku | Daugava Rīga | Glenavon | Tromsø |- | Gabala | Fram Reykjavík | Linfield | Brommapojkarna |- | Honka | FH | Crusaders | MYPA |- | VPS | Stjarnan | Airbus UK Broughton |rowspan=2| |- | Široki Brijeg | Lovćen Cetinje | Bangor City |} Notably three teams take part in the competition that do not currently play in their national top-division. They are Santos Tartu (3rd tier), St. Pölten (2nd) and Tromsø (2nd). ;Notes Round and draw dates The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise). Matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts. Qualifying rounds In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams will be divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2014 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. First qualifying round The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on 23 June 2014. The first legs were played on 1 and 3 July, and the second legs were played on 8, 10 and 11 July 2014. |Sant Julià|AND|4–0|0–0}} |'Koper'|SVN|0–5|0–4}} |Lovćen Cetinje|MNE|0–0|1–0}} }} }} |'Haugesund'|NOR|1–1|1–2}} |} ;Notes Second qualifying round The first legs were played on 17 July, and the second legs were played on 22 and 24 July 2014. |Željezničar|BIH|0–0|2–2}} |Hapoel Be'er Sheva|ISR|2–1|0–0}} |'Slovan Liberec'|CZE|0–1|0–3}} }} |'Spartak Trnava'|SVK|0–0|0–3}} |Crusaders|NIR|4–0|1–1}} }} }} |Hapoel Tel Aviv|ISR|3–0|0–1}} |'Asteras Tripoli'|GRE|1–1|2–4}} |'Hajduk Split'|CRO|0–2|2–1}} }} |} ;Notes Third qualifying round The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 18 July 2014. The first legs were played on 31 July, and the second legs were played on 7 August 2014. |Chornomorets Odesa|UKR|2–0|0–0}} |'Torino'|ITA|0–3|0–4}} |} ;Notes Play-off round The draw for the play-off round was held on 8 August 2014. The first legs were played on 20 and 21 August, and the second legs were played on 28 August 2014. |Omonia|CYP|2–2|2–1}} |Neftchi Baku|AZE|3–2|2–1}} }} }} |'Feyenoord'|NED|1–1|3–4}} |} ;Notes Group stage The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 29 August 2014. The 48 teams were allocated into four pots based on their 2014 UEFA club coefficients, with the title holders being placed in Pot 1 automatically. They were drawn into twelve groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 18 September, 2 October, 23 October (one home match of Metalist Kharkiv played on 22 October), 6 November, 27 November, and 11 December 2014. A total of 26 national associations were represented in the group stage. Wolfsburg, Torino, Feyenoord, Guingamp, Saint-Étienne, Rio Ave, Dynamo Moscow, Krasnodar, Lokeren, Asteras Tripoli, Qarabağ, HJK, Astra Giurgiu, Dinamo Minsk and AaB made their debut appearances in the UEFA Europa League group stage (not counting UEFA Cup group stage appearances), although Wolfsburg had already disputed the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League knockout phase after a third place in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 32, where they were joined by the eight third-placed teams of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage. See 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage#Tiebreakers for tiebreakers if two or more teams are equal on points. Group A Group B Group C Group D Red Bull Salzburg's 21 goals scored set a new Europa League group stage record. Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I Group J Group K Group L Knockout phase In the knockout phase, teams will play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows: *In the draw for the round of 32, the twelve group winners and the four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage with the better group records will be seeded, and the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage will be unseeded. The seeded teams will be drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other. *In the draws for the round of 16 onwards, there will be no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association can be drawn against each other. Round of 32 The draw for the round of 32 was held on 15 December 2014. The first legs were played on 19 February, and the second legs were played on 26 February 2015. |} Round of 16 The draw for the round of 16 was held on 27 February 2015. The first legs will be played on 12 March, and the second legs will be played on 19 March 2015. Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on 20 March 2015. The first legs will be played on 16 April, and the second legs will be played on 23 April 2015. Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals and final (to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes) will be held on 24 April 2015. The first legs will be played on 7 May, and the second legs will be played on 14 May 2015. Final The final will be played on 27 May 2015 at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland. See also *2014–15 UEFA Champions League *2015 UEFA Super Cup External links *UEFA Europa League (official website) Category:2014–15 UEFA Europa League 1 2014-15